Thanksgiving Traditions
by WorldOfTilt
Summary: Brittany and Santana think back to their first thanksgiving together and all the traditions they started that night.


Brittany was sitting up on the counter, next to the sink. That's where she sits while Santana is cooking for Thanksgiving. Santana took a lot of convincing to allow Brittany to be in the kitchen during Thanksgiving prep. Brittany's only job, besides keeping Santana company, is to hand Santana ingredients. This is sort of like a Thanksgiving tradition in the Lopez-Pierce household. Santana cooks, Brittany watches. It's been that way since they were little and spent their first Thanksgiving together.

"Hey, San, remember that first thanksgiving we celebrated together? After months and months of begging our families to have joint thanksgiving dinner?" Brittany giggled, handing Santana an onion.

"How could I ever forget that Thanksgiving? It started a lot of traditions for us," Santana sighed, pretending it was the onion that was making her tear up.

"_Ok girls, I think you are old enough to make the stuffing this year. How would you like to do that?" Mrs. Lopez asked the two small Junior Varsity cheerleaders standing in front of her._

_"How do you make it?" Brittany asked, directing her question towards Santana as usual._

_"I don't know," Santana said to the floor, unhappy that she wasn't able to answer a question Brittany asked. _

_"It's easy girls, here, I'll set everything out for you and then you just follow the recipe. It will tell you the order that you put everything in the pot, ok?" Mrs. Lopez handed Santana the tattered sheet of paper with the recipe on it._

_"Ok," both girls answered in unison. _

_Mrs. Lopez left the kitchen to finish setting the table, leaving Santana and Brittany alone. "I'm nervous, San," Brittany whispered as she got the eggs out of the refrigerator, as Santana instructed her. _

_"I know, but I'm not. How about you just sit here and watch and I'll make it?" Santana asked, knowing it would go both cleaner and faster if she did it by herself. It's not that she didn't want to make the stuffing with Brittany, but she also secretly liked the thought of cooking for Brittany and trying to impress her. _

_"Are you sure? Your mom said we should both make it," Brittany said, nervously while pushing a container of maple syrup out of her way and jumping on the counter. _

_"Yeah, Britt. Don't worry. You will still be here with me, you can hand me ingredients. Like, like a soup chef. I think that's what my mother calls me when I help her. So you are my soup chef," Santana smiled at a beaming Brittany. _

_"Ok, I can be a soup chef. But we're making stuffing," Brittany frowned, "so I'll be your stuffing chef!" She cheered up. _

_"Ok, stuffing chef, please hand me the butter and then the garlic," Santana smirked at the pot, liking this arrangement and knowing that it made Brittany feel special. _

_"I like watching you cook, San. You look so cute," Brittany giggled, watching Santana turn red._

_"Britt, stop staring at me. I can't concentrate when you stare at me like that," Santana blushed harder, blaming the steam from the pot. _

_A strand of hair fell into Santana's face, but she was unable to push it away with her hands full of egg and bread mixture. She tried blowing up a few times but the strand of hair stayed there and it was really starting to test her patience. Brittany watched from the countertop, too far away to reach over and brush it out of Santana's face. After a few more seconds Brittany decided to break Santana's rule of only sitting on the counter to jump off and help her best friend. Santana was too busy muttering under her breath about the strand of hair that she didn't notice Brittany walk up behind her. Brittany reached around and tucked Santana's hair back behind her ear._

_"Britt! You scared me, you can't sneak up on my when I'm cooking," Santana whined, not looking up at Brittany. Brittany, who was so close Santana wasn't sure if it was the steam or Brittany causing her face to heat up like it was. _

_"I didn't mean to scare you, I was trying to help," Brittany pouted, slowly walking back to her counter top spot. _

_"No, Britt wait," Santana turned around, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I just got flustered," Santana looked down, once again not able to make eye contact. _

_"Why did you get flustered, are you having trouble with the recipe? I can help if you tell me what to do," Brittany suggested, her face lighting up a bit. _  
_"No, no. It's not the recipe Britt. Don't worry about it. We are almost done, I just need to add some more things and let it cook down," Santana turned back towards the stove, smiling to herself when she heard Brittany jump back up on the counter. _

_"Hey San?" Brittany spoke after a few minutes of silence, except for her feet kicking against the cabinets below her and the bubbling of the pots and pans. _

_"Yeah Britt?" Santana answered while grabbing for a spatula, which Brittany handed her._

_"We're supposed to say what we are most thankful for today, right?" Brittany asked._

_"I guess." Santana's stomach knotting up at the thought of what she's most thankful for._

_"Well, I'm most thankful for you," Brittany said quietly. _

_After a few more seconds of silence, Brittany worried that she had said something wrong. In class, the teacher told them that they should be thankful for a lot of things like having homes, and families, and enough food, but she also said that you can be thankful for people. People in your life that make you happy and who you want to make happy. There was only one person Brittany could think of. Her teacher said that they should try and tell that person they are thankful for them this Thanksgiving, because it would make the person happy. Brittany liked making Santana happy. _

_"San?" Brittany asked, worried her plan had backfired. _

_"What, Britt?" Santana answered sharply, her attitude taking a full 180 since Brittany made her confession. Santana was acting nervous and short._

_She reached over for the olive oil, knocking over a container of vegetable broth. She blindly reached for the olive oil again, while cleaning the broth up with the other hand. She poured it in while counting to two like her mother had taught her. _

_Finally looking up from her mess, "What? No!" Santana yelled, "I ruined it!" _

_"What happened?" Brittany jumped down off the counter. _

_"You distracted me! You make me nervous!" Santana yelled at Brittany, "and now I ruined the stuffing," Santana ran upstairs crying._

_Confused, Brittany looked around to see what could have gone wrong. Santana was doing so well. She eyed the bottle Santana slammed down, noticing it was maple syrup and not olive oil. Brittany tasted the stuffing, smiling at the added sweetness. She turned off the flame under the pot like Santana always told her to and slowly walked upstairs. Even through the closed door she could hear Santana yelling and crying. She knocked two times quickly, than once again. It was their special knock so they knew it was each other and not a parent or someone else. _

_"No, Britt!" Santana yelled through the door._

_Santana had always let Brittany in. "San, you've never not let me in. Let me in," Brittany's voice cracked. _

_"No, Britt. I'm sorry," Santana answered softer this time, Brittany could hear that Santana was closer to the door than before._

_"But - but San, it's me," Brittany sniffed, wiping a tear from her eye. She was upset Santana wasn't letting her in, but she knew if Santana wasn't letting her in, she must be really upset. "San, I can help. We always help each other." _

_"Not with this, Britt. No one can help me with this, not even you," Santana let out a sob, causing Brittany to push against the door. _

_"San, I'm coming in. Don't make me break the door down. You know how strong I am. I lifted Quinn all by myself at practice the other day," Brittany warned, starting to stretch._

_"Britt, no. You are going to hurt yourself," Santana said through the door. _

_"If you aren't going to let me in, I am letting myself in. You've never not let me in, San," Britt raised her voice, more tears flowing. She took a few steps back, "ready, one-two-" Brittany was about to charge the door when she heard the click of the lock. Santana opened the door a crack, peeking her reddened eyes through the slit. _

_"Britt," Santana choked out. "I don't want you to hurt yourself." _

_"Then let me in," Brittany pushed against the door, Santana giving no resistance. _

_They both silently walked towards the bed and sat down on the edge, Santana's feet dangling a few inches off the ground. _

_"The stuffing tastes really good," Brittany inched closer to Santana. _

_Santana cracked a smile, "for real?" _

_"For really real." _

_"I'm sorry I yelled at you and blamed you. I didn't mean it," Santana made herself look at Brittany who was leaning over to wipe a crumb off Santana's shoulder. _

_"I know you didn't. I didn't feel bad because you yelled at me. I felt bad because you were upset and then you didn't let me in. You always let me in," Brittany sniffed, her hand still on Santana's shoulder. _

_"I know Britt, I'm sorry. I promise that was the first and last time I'll ever not let you in," Santana gave Brittany a small forced smile. _

_"Ok good, now will you please tell me why you got so upset at the stuffing?" Brittany moved even closer, their knees touching. _

_"I got mad at myself for ruining the stuffing but also for getting distracted at..." Santana stopped and looked down again. _

_"You didn't ruin the stuffing, we can pretend it's a new tradition. "Santana's Maple Syrup Stuffing." Wait, did I distract you?" Brittany bent over to look at Santana from below. _

_"Sort of," Santana looked up, lifting Brittany's head with her. _

_"How did I distract you? We are always together, do I always distract you?" Brittany frowned worrying that she was causing Santana harm._

_"No, I mean yes, but no. I don't know," Santana sighed, moving to get up but was held down by Brittany. "When you said you were thankful for me, I just, I don't know," Santana muttered. _

_"But I am very thankful for you, aren't you thankful for me?" Brittany questioned, not really worrying about the answer, because she knew the answer, but worrying about why Santana was having such a hard time with it._

_"Britt, I'm the most thankful for you," Santana took a deep breath, "that's my problem."_

_"Why is it a problem?" Brittany asked, a deep crease forming between her eyes. _

_"Because I don't know how to deal with the fact that I'm the most thankful for you. That even when it's not Thanksgiving, I think about how lucky I am that we are best friends and that you hang out with me and that you are you and you make me smile and sometimes I make you smile and..." Santana paused, wiping a different kind of tear away. _

_"San, you know I am thankful for you everyday also," Brittany reached over wiping a tear off of Santana's chin. _

_"I know Britt, but I'm more than thankful for you," Santana started to cry harder. "I - I think, I want," Santana paused again, this time because she saw Brittany moving closer out of the corner of her eye. "Britt, what are you doing?" _

_Brittany leaned in, before Santana knew what was happening she felt Brittany's soft lips on hers. Brittany pushed her lips out, applying a pressure that somehow made Santana feel lighter. Santana could suddenly feel everything. She could feel the roughness of the blanket against the palm of her hand, she could feel a few wisps of Brittany's hair against her cheek, she could smell the cooking from downstairs, she could feel Brittany's hand on her thigh, and she could hear the neighbors playing football outside. Most of all she could feel Brittany's lips on hers. It felt like an eternity before Brittany moved her head back just centimetres to take a deep breath. _

_Santana opened her eyes and for a split second saw Brittany's face coming towards her. Brittany's beautiful face, she looked so calm and light. Santana knew enough this time to take a breath before Brittany's lips hit hers again. After another few seconds, Santana felt Brittany's lips move. She moved her lips against Brittany's and wondered how just moving her lips could cause her stomach to burst into flames. Brittany opened her mouth a tiny bit, just enough to allow her tongue to slip past her lips and push against Santana's closed mouth. Santana's eyes flew open, but she didn't dare move her head away from Brittany's. Brittany pushed her tongue harder against Santana's lips. Santana finally got the hint and parted her lips allowing Brittany's tongue entrance. Santana gasped at the feeling of Brittany's tongue touching hers. _

_Her mind started spinning, she saw little white bursts of light behind her tightly closed eyelids, her hands squeezed shut around the blanket, and her stomach tensed up like it was going to explode. Brittany's tongue was so warm and soft, it felt so right. Their tongues explored each other's mouths for a few more minutes, they got bolder and more assertive and Santana was pretty sure she'd never feel anything this good ever again. _

_She wasn't sad when they finally stopped. She knew they were only stopping for the time being, she knew she'd never really stop kissing Brittany from now on, not ever. Brittany's mother was calling them down to dinner from the bottom of the stairs. Brittany was breathing heavily, running her hands up and down her thighs as Santana went into the bathroom to wash her face. _

_"San?" Brittany called into the bathroom._

_"Yeah, Britt?" Santana answered, walking out of the bathroom._

_"Is that why you were upset?" Brittany got up, fixing Santana's hair. _

_"Yeah," Santana shrugged, "I didn't know how to tell you." _

_"You didn't have to tell me, I've known for awhile that I felt this way about you and that you felt this way about me. I was just waiting for you to figure it out," Brittany smiled, giving Santana a quick peck on the cheek before bounding down the stairs. _

_Santana shook her head and laughed, "you're so smart," she said towards the door Brittany had just exited from. Santana felt like she was gliding down the stairs. She felt light and happy and free and she knew that Brittany was waiting at the table for her. _

_"San, did you put maple syrup in the stuffing?" Mrs. Lopez asked while they were all sitting down to eat. _

_"She did! Isn't it the best thing ever?" Brittany cheered, "she wanted to do something special, start a new tradition since this is the first year we are all having Thanksgiving together," Brittany smiled at Santana, who was blushing again. _

_"It's delicious!" Mr. Pierce laughed._

_"I agree, who would have thought these two things would go so well together?" Mr. Lopez joined in. _

_"Brittany knew, she knew those two things would go together," Santana smiled at Brittany. _

"We made a lot of new traditions that night, huh?" Brittany walked up behind Santana, brushing some hair out of her face.

"I personally think the best thing we did that night was the maple stuffing," Santana turned from the stove to smirk at Brittany.

Brittany slapped Santana on the butt, while jumping back on the counter. "You would think the food was better than the kiss," Brittany shook her head, throwing an apple slice at Santana.

"I honestly thought at the time that nothing I would ever do would have felt as good as that kiss," Santana laughed, throwing the apple slice in her mouth.

"Oh yeah, have you ever felt anything that good since?" Brittany challenged.

"Eh, maybe once or twice," Santana smirked.

"Oh really? Well, I'm going to have to change that," Brittany slinked off the counter, turned Santana around and pressed her against the countertop, kissing her hard. Brittany reached around, undoing the apron Santana was wearing.

"Britt! Stop, I need to finish cooking. Our parents will be here in an hour," Santana tried to free herself from Brittany's grasp.

"Nope, I need to make you feel something better than our first kiss. It's our Thanksgiving tradition, after all." Brittany slipped a hand under Santana's shirt, slightly tickling her.

"Ok, Ok. I lied! You make me feel even better than that first kiss every single day!" Santana put her hands up in surrender.

"Thought so," Brittany removed her hand, "you're still in trouble though. Later, after everyone has left, you better be waiting in our bed with only that apron on," Brittany warned, giving Santana's butt another quick slap before jumping back up onto the counter.

For the twelfth Thanksgiving in a row, Brittany had managed to successfully distract Santana enough that she messed up another recipe. This year they would be adding brown sugar mushrooms to their Thanksgiving menu.


End file.
